Public meetings should be PUBLICLY accessible.
Florida Sex Offenders Unable to Attend Some Public Meetings
We received a member submission about a public meeting to address an issue that will impact the registrants in a particular community.
The meeting is proposed to be held in a location he is banished from.
EXTENDING OSCEOLA PARKWAY: New options on the table show Lake Ajay residents are in jeopardy again in having the Osceola Parkway Extension go through their community. Friends of Split Oak Forest say they have a better option that doesn’t impact their preserve or residents. Central Florida Expressway plans to hold a number of public information meetings this month so people can get involved. https://goo.gl/5dbkZA
MEETING SCHEDULE:
February 13: St. Cloud High School from 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
February 15 at Lake Nona Middle School from 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
February 21 Association of Poinciana Villages Community Center from 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Just like the Supreme Court proposes to broadcast its hearings on FaceBook, holding public meetings such as the one above (or the recent Brevard County re-entry task force meeting) in places we are not allowed to go to, deprives us of our First Amendment rights. The right of the people to petition the Government for a redress of grievances is fundamental!
Florida’s Sunshine Law, provides a right of access to governmental proceedings at both the state and local levels.The Government in the Sunshine Law applies to “any board or commission of any state agency or authority or of any agency or authority of any county, municipal corporation, or political subdivision.” The statute thus applies to public collegial bodies within this state, at the local as well as state level. City of Miami Beach v. Berns, 245 So. 2d 38 (Fla. 1971). It is equally applicable to elected and appointed boards or commissions. Op. Att’y Gen. Fla. 73-223 (1973). The judiciary and the Legislature are not subject to the Sunshine Law.See, Locke v. Hawkes, 595 So. 2d 32 (Fla. 1992); Op. Att’y Gen. Fla. 83-97 (1983).
There is a very helpful explanation of the Florida Law, which can be found here.
The bottom line being; public meetings which are held at venues ‘off limits’ to registrants are, in our opinion, unconstitutional and violate Florida’s Sunshine Law. If you know of such a meeting being held in a venue you are not able to attend because of a proximity ordinance, send them a letter requiring they change the venue to one that is open to the public.
If this becomes a larger issue, let us know at legal@floridaactioncommittee.org and we will see what further action can be taken.
In Brevard County Florida we have the good ole Ordinance 2006-31. I can go to city hall in Titusville to take care of personal business but I cannot go to the same city hall to get permits for the Space Coast Airshow because the city hall is within 1000 feet of a child care center. This is bureaucratic lunacy!
I have to second Capt. Munsey’s comment. Not only is this the situation with Titusville city hall but the ENTIRE government center for Brevard county in Viera is technically off limits. Every office in the government center and the Viera courthouse are directly across the street from 2 schools. The county ordinance is VERY specific about what activities are permitted within the 1000′ exclusion zone and any personal business, building permits, clerk of court, basically anything to do with daily living, are not included as permissible and therefore classify as “loitering” under the ordinance. Would I automatically be arrested for conducting business in these areas? Probably not but take a Probation Officer or Sheriff’s Deputy thats had a bad day or week and the results could be catastrophic. This would be such a hot potato issue that nobody would want the responsibility of giving a definitive answer or ruling. Meanwhile my (or your) happy butt would sit in the county jail until the issue was resolved.
It seems to me they do anything to offenders in Florida.I was in high school when my offense happened in now in my upper 40s and still go the crap and it wasn’t heard of in the 90s thats not what i plead to at all but its gonna get worse i believe
All…and I mean all…public buildings should be accessible to all…and I mean all…citizens even if they are next door to a school or child care center. We pay taxes and have the right as tax paying citizens. I doubt that the Brevard County Sheriff would get too worked up about a citizen conducting legitimate business…he has real problems to focus on…but probation would have a ‘hay day’…another ‘gold star’ for the forehead. They forget that probation is ‘practice for re-entry into society’, not practice for going to jail. Only probation can turn a perfectly innocent act into a criminal event.